This headquarters operating instruction (HOI) establishes procedures for informing CINCNORAD of impending Open Skies Treaty flights operating over North America. It applies to the Headquarters NORAD staff and the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center (CMOC).

1. Background:

1.1. The Open Skies Treaty was signed on 24 March 1992 by 27 countries, including the United States and Canada. The treaty's intent is to contribute to world stability by providing a means of verifying arms control agreements. The number of observation flights conducted over a signatory country's airspace is specified in the treaty, which permits up to 42 flights per year to be conducted over US airspace and 12 flights per year over Canadian airspace.

1.2. Nations conducting Open Skies missions must provide a minimum of 72 hours notice to the country being over-flown. The actual mission plan must include the desired routing and be submitted at least 24 hours prior to the flight. In the US, notification of intent to conduct the mission is routed from the Department of State to the On-Site Inspection Agency to the National Military Command Center (NMCC), which subsequently notifies the CMOC. CMOC is responsible for notifying appropriate US facilities (AIG 7373, SATRAN) of impending Open Skies flights. In Canada, the National Defense Headquarters' (NDHQ's) Treaty Verification Office is responsible for the notification of their respective agencies, which includes the CMOC.

2. Procedures:

2.1. When the CMOC receives notice from either the NMCC or NDHQ of impending Open Skies flights over the airspace of North America, they will initiate reporting procedures to CINCNORAD. These procedures follow two separate routes:

2.1.2. Map depiction of the route of flight: N/SPJ2FIQ (SATRAN) will pass route information to N/SPJ2FI, who will produce a map of the proposed routing. The map will be provided to CINCNORAD through N/J3, with info copies provided to the CMOC/CC and N/SPJ2.